Oprah: “Jesus not the only Way”

Never let it be said that the devil is unaware of how to “make friends and influence people”. Take the case of Oprah Winfrey (who I am not calling "the devil"). I will say that I know little about her life, except to say that it appears that at one point, prior to her current mega financial success story, she was a young woman from apparently humble beginnings (by the world's standards) who was once exposed to the gospel of Jesus Christ. Since then, she has worked her way up the media ladder to the lofty position she now holds. However the “power” that comes with her current position along with the compromises about Christ that must be made in order to maintain a celebrated relationship with the entertainment industry, leads to the inevitable presentation that is captured from her show in the following clip:

"Jesus not the only way" - Oprah Winfrey

In this clip Oprah indirectly suggests that Jesus was a liar when He said the following in John 14:6 - Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

The Bible is very accurate about the human condition in all respects. The essence of this video clip is captured plainly by the following scripture: Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, "How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!" It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." (Mark 10:23, 25 NIV) Undestand here however, that Christ is not saying blanketly that rich people cannot be saved!

One final point: as to the question about how do people in remote parts of the world hear about "this Jesus"? The Bible puts it very plainly: Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah: "I am the LORD, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me? (Jeremiah 32:26 NIV)

Ignore God and Decrease Your Birth Rates

I read a very interesting article yesterday in the New York Times on the topic of the shrinking birth rate in Europe over the past few decades. The article outlines the demographic danger facing Europe with the high likelihood that several countries (Italy, Spain and Germany among others) will see their native populations decrease by up to 40% by 2050. According to the article, the replacement birth rate necessary to maintain an equal population size from generation to generation is 2.1 children born to each woman. In Europe according to the article the rate is well below 2.0, with some countries closer to 1.5 and dropping. It is a lengthy and very interesting read that sheds some light on a phenomenon that in all likelihood will reshape the face of Western Europe within 100 years. The interesting thing about the article is that it was published after extensive research and interviews with many experts and it offers various possible explanations for why this situation has developed.

Mother Jesus?

The Episcopal Church USA continues to stake out their territory as a “church unto itself” as opposed to a part of Christ’s body of believers with such decisions as 2003’s approval of the New Hampshire Diocese's election of V. Gene Robinson, as the organization’s first openly gay bishop. This year the “church” elected liberal Katherine Jefferts Schori as their leader. Along comes this not surprising bit of information about Ms. Schori courtesy of Newsbusters.org . Most recently, she irritated some conservatives by speaking about "Mother Jesus" in a sermon....the website then goes on to quote Washington Post reporter Alan Cooperman who stated: To those who accuse her of heresy for referring to a female Jesus, she responds with a typically learned disquisition on medieval mystics and saints who used similar language, including Julian of Norwich and St. Teresa of Avila. "I was trying to say that the work of the cross was in some ways like giving birth to a new creation,

Funerals for the Unsaved or Unbelievers

I am not a leader of a church, but I oftentimes wonder how does one lead a funeral service for someone who dies without knowing Jesus Christ as Lord ? Admittedly I have not been to many funerals in my lifetime, though they are appearing to come more frequently lately, but the fact is that funerals are held daily throughout the world and as such this is a pertinent question to someone just about every day. I’ve been to the funeral where the person lived a fairly routine life, taking care of their families and other responsibilities as best they could, paying taxes and doing the average things that we as human beings do on a consistent basis. They however had no visible relationship with God through His son Jesus Christ. When this person dies, the surviving family members are oftentimes left scrambling trying to find a person and a place to officiate the funeral services – generally because the deceased did not have a regular church that they attended. Funeral homes sometimes serve thi

Treasure In Clay Jars

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